Notebook: Pit road mistake turns fortunate for Harvick

Notebook: Pit road mistake turns fortunate for Harvick


AVONDALE, Ariz.—The best save of the weekend wasn’t made at the Phoenix Coyotes’ arena in nearby Glendale. Instead, it belonged to Kevin Harvick, who kept his NASCAR Sprint Cup title hopes alive in the face of a pit road mistake that could have crushed them.
Harvick had to give up track position and bring his car back to pit road on Lap 225 of Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway to allow his crew to tighten a lug nut that had not been secured completely a lap earlier.
So under caution on Lap 235, with little to lose in terms of track position, he returned to pit road to top off his fuel cell. That enabled him to remain on the track for the remainder of the race and finish sixth, six spots ahead of points leader Denny Hamlin, who had to pit for gas on Lap 298 of 312.
The pit road mistake weighed on Harvick, but not for long.
“I kind of got over it after about 15 laps and just started driving the car again,” he said. “And it all worked out in the end. The guys thought we were really close on fuel, and they thought we could make it, no problem, but they were still a little bit nervous about it, and our mistake wound up being one of the things that kept us going.
“Our mistake wound up being something that gained us more points than if we would have not made the mistake. We just kept after it and wound up getting an OK day.”

McGrew’s status an offseason decision
Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t want to think about personnel issues with his No. 88 team until the end of the season. That includes a decision about the status of crew chief Lance McGrew.
“I ain’t really making any decisions on that until after the season’s over with,” Earnhardt told Sporting News. “I asked (team owner) Rick (Hendrick) and everybody in the corporation if I could just not consider any options for next year or any ideas until we’re done racing—that I wanted to focus on what we’re doing. I just wanted to get all I could out these last two races before I started thinking about that.
“I will say this about Lance: I’ve really enjoyed working with him. I’ve enjoyed even more so becoming his friend and getting to know him as well as I have. I have a lot of respect for him, and he’s put up with a lot of crap this year and last year, trying to help get this thing going. He gave me his best effort to try to help each weekend, and I’ve just got a lot of respect for him.”
Since McGrew replaced Tony Eury Jr. as crew chief in mid-2009, the results have been disappointing. Earnhardt hasn’t won a race since June 2008, and this year he failed to make the Chase for the second straight season.
Earnhardt, who started 31st and finished 14th Sunday, isn’t laboring under any illusions when assessing the overall performance of the No. 88 team.
“I think I can say that what’s going on on the racetrack is a fair assessment,” he said. “It’s had its ups and downs this year, but here lately we’ve struggled quite badly. It’s been unfortunate, and you really can’t visually see what our issues are. It’s a moving target for us.”

Clinch scenarios at Homestead
Denny Hamlin, who leads Jimmie Johnson by 15 points in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, has two ways to clinch the championship outright—either by leading the most laps and finishing second next Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway or by winning the season finale.
Johnson and Kevin Harvick, who trails by 46 points, are the only two drivers with a chance to catch Hamlin, who won last year’s race at Homestead.
By Reid Spencer

Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

Edwards wins at Phoenix

Edwards wins at Phoenix; Hamlin’s Chase lead shrinks


By Reid Spencer
Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

AVONDALE, Ariz.—Jimmie Johnson didn’t have the fastest car in Sunday’s Kobalt Tools 500 at Phoenix International Raceway—at the end of the day, race winner and polesitter Carl Edwards did.
Johnson, the four-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup champion, didn’t lead a lap. Denny Hamlin, ahead in the points and seeking his first title, led a race-high 190 laps.
Ultimately, none of that mattered. Short on fuel at the end of a race he had dominated, Hamlin short-pitted with Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Kyle Busch on Lap 298 of 312, while Edwards, Johnson and Kevin Harvick were conserving fuel after pit stops under caution on Lap 224.
All three won their gambles, and Hamlin, who finished 12th, saw his lead over second-place Johnson shrink from 33 points to 15 entering next Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Harvick is third in the standings, 46 points behind Hamlin.
Edwards crossed the finish line 4.77 seconds ahead of runner-up Ryan Newman to break a winless streak of 70 races, dating to Homestead in November 2008. Edwards squeezed 88 laps out of his last tank of gas to win for the 17th time in his career, completing a sweep of a weekend that also included a victory in Saturday’s Nationwide Series race.
Joey Logano and Greg Biffle, finished third and fourth, respectively, followed by Johnson and Harvick. Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Kurt Busch and Jamie McMurray completed the top 10.
“Everybody made it on fuel—is that what you’re telling me?” Hamlin radioed to crew chief Mike Ford after learning he had finished 12th.
“Good job today, man,” Ford replied. “I know that was ugly. That’s something we’ve got to work on.”
“What do we have to work on?” Hamlin asked.
“Mileage was awful,” Ford told him.
Indeed it was. Ford told Hamlin he was 12 laps short on fuel after the pit stop on Lap 224. Contrast that to Edwards, who raced Hamlin hard and passed him for the lead on Lap 266 and made it to the end of the race despite conserving fuel for only half of the last green-flag run.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what our status was,” Edwards said. “I don’t think (crew chief) Bob (Osborne) wanted to say it over the radio, or he just didn’t want to tell me, but I didn’t know what was going on. I thought we were 12 (laps) short, and the caution came out (on Lap 234), so I thought we were maybe six short or something like that.
“So when they dropped the green (on Lap 240), I started racing pretty hard, and I felt like I was a little faster than Denny, but then I realized, ‘Maybe he’s saving a little fuel, so I better save some.’ So I was saving. And then Kyle was falling back even farther behind me, and I thought, ‘OK, these guys are all saving fuel,’ and then Bob started telling me lap times, so I thought, ‘Why is he telling me lap times? Maybe he wants me to race here.’
“We had to establish the fact that he wanted me to race them, so that’s when I drove by Denny. … I only saved fuel for about half of that last run.”
Even as he was in gas-conservation mode inside his car, Johnson recognized the magnitude of his gamble. Failure meant the end to his hopes for a fifth title.
“If we ran out, yeah, we would have lost the chance to be the champions,” Johnson said. “But that kind of left my mind, and I really started focusing on what I needed to do to save gas. Really tried to eliminate my thoughts, any negative thoughts in my mind. Just save fuel … what I needed to do on the racetrack to save fuel.
“Before I knew it, the laps went by pretty quick. Worked themselves down to the white flag. Once I came off of Turn 2 and down the back, I felt pretty good I’d make it to the start/finish line ahead of the 11 (Hamlin).
“My emotions tried to get the best of me. I was on the edge of my seat, but I kept talking myself off the ledge.”

NASCAR National Series Clinch Scenarios Set For Homestead

NASCAR National Series Clinch Scenarios Set For Homestead


 (Nov. 14, 2010) –
With only 15 points separating the top two drivers, the closest championship in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup’s seven-year history won’t be won easily.

The only way points leader Denny Hamlin can guarantee a clinch of his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is by either finishing second while leading the most laps or winning next Sunday’s season finale Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Jimmie Johnson, in second,and Kevin Harvick, in third, are the only other drivers still eligible to win the 2010 title. Harvick trails Hamlin by 46 points.

Hamlin’s 15-point lead is the closest margin between first and second in Chase history, bettering the 18-point difference Kurt Busch held over Johnson in 2004.

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Though Brad Keselowski has already clinched the NASCAR Nationwide Series driver’s championship, the series owner’s title has yet to be decided.

Currently, the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota holds a 41-point lead over the No. 22 Penske Racing Dodge.

The No. 18 can guarantee the title by finishing fifth; or sixth with at least one lap led; or seventh while leading the most laps on Saturday at Homestead.

This season, the No. 18 has been driven by Kyle Busch (28 races) and Brad Coleman (six races). Busch is scheduled to drive at Homestead. Brad Keselowski has run the full schedule in the No. 22.

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Last Friday, Todd Bodine clinched his second NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver’s championship. The 2010 owner’s championship, though, has not been decided.

The No. 18 Kyle Busch Motorsports Toyota holds a 120-point lead over the No. 30 Germain Racing Toyota going into Friday night’s season finale at Homestead.

The No. 18 can guarantee the title by finishing 29th; or 31st with at least one lap led; or 32nd while leading the most laps.

This season, the No. 18 has been driven by Kyle Busch (15 races), Brian Ickler (seven races), Kasey Kahne (one race) and Johnny Benson (one race). Busch is scheduled to drive next Saturday at Homestead. Todd Bodine has run the full schedule in the No. 30.